"100 Years Ago Today" - Car Wars News

[owenmp]

Surprise! Magnets used to plant drugs under cars from Mexico
http://www.komonews.com/news/nationa...289531781.html
The Associated Press and KOMO TV 4 Seattle
January 22, 2015

Drug smugglers are turning "trusted travelers" into unwitting mules by placing containers with powerful magnets under their cars in Mexico and then recovering the illegal cargo far from the view of border authorities in the United States.

[owenmp]

The armored mini-fridge is no longer only considered a damage sink. The item has been shown it is more accurately classified as a one-shot dropped weapon.

Police Chased Tractor-Trailer 34 Miles, Dodged Thrown Fridge
http://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStor...hrown-28988039
ABC News and Associated Press
February 15, 2015

[K-Slacker]

"PEW pew! For a week last November an internal combustion engine hummed away in a lab near Chicago. Why the excitement? This particular engine sets fire to fuel with lasers instead of spark plugs, burning fuel more efficiently than normal."

Lasers Set to Zap Engines into Running More Efficiently
http://www.newscientist.com/article/...ficiently.html
New Scientist
20 February 2015

Gas Engine Accessory? Maybe +2 mpg (only +1 if it started below 10 mpg), add 15% to engine cost?

[owenmp]

I am mentioning this blog post because of one reader's comment.

Bikers Attack SUV in NYC . . . Cops Nowhere to be Found
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2013/10/0...re-to-be-found
Dvorak Uncensored
October 01, 2013


jim g says:
10/1/2013 at 8:40 pm

Mutants on bikes got ya down?
Be sure to visit Uncle Albert’s Auto Stop and Gunnery Shop: Your One-stop source for vehicular weaponry since 2028! Flamethrowers, paint sprayers , mine droppers! Need a recoilless rifle? They got ‘em! No job too small, remember Uncle Al, the Auto duellist’s pal!

[possumknavel]

Originally Posted by K-Slacker

Gas Engine Accessory? Maybe +2 mpg (only +1 if it started below 10 mpg), add 15% to engine cost?

I wonder if the lasers would require a laser battery? :P

-John

[K-Slacker]

Surprised that this one hasn't been posted yet:

"Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] 30-kilowatt fiber laser weapon system successfully disabled the engine of a small truck during a recent field test, demonstrating the rapidly evolving precision capability to protect military forces and critical infrastructure."

Turning Up The Heat: Latest Evolution Of Lockheed Martin Laser Weapon System Stops Truck In Field Test
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/new...ena-laser.html
Lockheed Martin Media Release
March 03, 2015

Lockheed Martin's laser can stop a truck from over a mile away
http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/04/l...r-athena-test/
Engadget
March 04, 2015

Early heavy lasers were fired from fixed emplacements. It was a number of years before vehicle-mounted versions became practical.

[LokRobster]

^^ "laser in the 30kW range" is pretty cool, K-Slacker, nice one. It took them "a few seconds" of focus to melt the engine back then!

Here's a fun blast-from-the-past, the IMI Combat Guard; the humongous tires seem to beg for a bonus to-hit, or a chance to get hit when aiming a normal shot at the side or front.

The article ends with a promotional video link. I love how everything about it is termed "Defensive" when it obviously should be used as an Offensive vehicle. No mention is made of the exposed 54" tires' protection, I'd figure they have to be some kind of Run-Flat, Solid and/or Kevlar lined to not be destroyed by any random pistol shot.

I like how the announcer guy says "lithe-ality" instead of leathality...

http://www.supercompressor.com/rides...-like-minivans

[K-Slacker]

With the new laws in place, many commuters began enforcing the "left lane" rule themselves (with extreme prejudice). This led to British Columbia having the fastest-flowing motorways on the continent.

B.C. to give police more power to ‘crack down on left-lane hogs’
http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/03...ong-motorists/
National Post
March 03, 2015

[K-Slacker]

(I wasn't kidding about the fast roads. That's 75mph for the metrically-challenged.)

Speed limits on some B.C. highways to hit 120 km/h
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...km-h-1.2694277
CBC News
July 02, 2014

[Buzzardo]

Originally Posted by K-Slacker

Speed limits on some B.C. highways to hit 120 km/h
July 02, 2014

We have 85 MPH toll roads here in Texas. :)

I've been seeing more signs for staying out of the left lane unless you're passing, too. I don't think they're enforcing it more than usual, but they are announcing it more. Perhaps greater enforcement will come later. Perhaps more militant enforcement of traffic regulations is a precursor to the Car Wars era.